Price of Loyalty
by Skipper1313
Summary: Ayron Angel, Stitch's oldest child, has served his father with little question for years. But when he learns the truth behind his fathers doings, how he rose to power, and of his own past, Ayron must decide where his loyalty lies: his father, or his heart
1. Ayron

Disclaimer: I do not own Lilo and Stitch

Disclaimer: I do not own Lilo and Stitch.

Well, here's another story I'm putting out here. I hope you all enjoy it. I'm not going to go into the plot or anything here; I'll let the story speak for itself.

**Price of Loyalty**

By: Skipper1313

Chapter 1: Ayron

"Ayron Angel; you have…"

Don't bother listening to the rest of this guy; I mean, why listen to someone who screws up the first word out of their mouth? My name is pronounced 'I-rune', not 'air-on' or anything like that. Quite a few people screw up my name, and it's really annoying. At least the guy knows how to say the word 'angel' correctly. Anyway, if you were to finish listening to that windbag, you'd probably hear that I had been convicted of high treason 'against the crown': treason against King Stitch, with my punishment being a hanging, if you haven't figured that out by me standing up here on the gallows. You'd probably think that it wouldn't do much, since we're indestructible and all, but they take precautions so I, or anyone else, can't escape; even though some of us are indestructible, we still need to breathe to survive.

If you looked back at my life a couple weeks ago, you'd be surprised to find me standing here. After all, I am the eldest son of King Stitch himself. I may not be happy about that, but it is true; I'm one of the King's sons. I can see my three siblings standing up by my father right now, looking down at me. They look fairly pleased to see me standing here; I can't say I blame them, as I have caused them a fair bit of trouble recently. However, what we think aside, I think you should hear me out, and make your own judgments about me, my family, and the society I live in. After you get all the facts, think of me as you will, but I believe everything I have done has been the right thing to do. It's hard for me to remember exactly when this whole thing started, so I'll head back a ways in this story.

**Several Weeks Ago**

I sat in my chair as usual, trying to sort through all of the boring paperwork in front of me. I hated Mondays, and this was the main reason. I never managed to make it through the entire stack, which could reach about six hundred pages in a bad week, without a serious amount of caffeine in my system. I was almost through, and I knew that the easiest part would be coming up soon: the execution orders. I had to laugh every week as I saw a few dozen or so cross my desk: I had made my stance against executions and the death penalty very clear, but they still continued to ask me for my approval. True, I could be paid a decent sum to look the other way, like with most of my rules, on the rare occasion, or if the man was a mass murderer or something. I finished the pile, it had taken me a good three hours, and handed it off to my servant, a robot built by my own four paws. Stretching a bit, I walked out of my office, and into the rest of my ship.

I had completely forgotten that I was on my personal transport ship; my paperwork can do that to me. I remembered that we were heading off to another Senate meeting, we being my advisor and I.

"Finally finished that paperwork?" Tolan asked.

I sat down across from him. "Yep." I looked over at him. "How's the leg?"

He chuckled. "You ask that a lot. It's been… four years since the accident." I nodded. In truth, I felt sorry for him. He had had a great life ahead of him; he had been in charge of the Nipseb Mining Facility, one of the biggest profit organizations in the Federation. Unfortunately, there had been a cave-in in one of the tunnels; Tolan went in and saved over a dozen of his men, and lost his leg when the cave had collapsed again. He had been pulled out and spent a month in the hospital. However, when he got out, he wasn't allowed to return to his job because of my father and his 'no cripples, no half-breeds, only pure Trogs' blitznak. After being unable to find another job, he came to Earth, also called 'the Out of the Ins' or 'Trogs Last Chance'. I am far more lenient when it comes to disabilities and such then anyone else is. I happened to be looking for an advisor at the time, and he decided to check it out. I talked to him, and found him to be intelligent, levelheaded, open-minded, and always spoke his mind, even if it was something that I didn't want to hear. Over the past three years, we've formed a tight bond, and I always travel with him by my side.

My pilot, Lothon, is a 'half-breed', though I hate to use the term, of a Trog and a human. Never found out any names of his parents, but he was forced out to Earth because he couldn't find a job. He's mostly just like a Trog, except he has ordinary flesh instead of fur, and had a few more physical characteristics of humans. He was a natural pilot, and after acing a few flight classes, he had caught my eye. After flying me around for two years, and getting me out of a few nasty scrapes with some bold pirates, he has my trust.

"We're coming up on Planet Turo, sir." Lothon called over the intercom. "If you head straight to the meeting, you can be there right on time."

I nodded, but didn't respond: he knew I wouldn't. If I answered every time someone told me something, I'd end up talking day in and day out some weeks. I strapped in, and a minute later, we were on the ground. I quickly threw my jade Senate robe on over the clothes I was wearing, and followed my advisor out of the ship. I didn't even have to glance behind me to know that my bodyguard, Ponck, was following the same two steps behind me. Standing a head taller then most Trogs, he was decked out in plasma-proof armor, with a helmet, and carried an assortment of weapons, able to do everything from an instant knockout to blowing up a decent sized room. A man of few words, mostly action, he had my absolute trust, and was my closest friend.

We hurried along to the Council Chamber, which was actually a large room, shaped like a sphere. Along one half of it was a large cluster of platforms, each with three seats, surrounded by a force field. On the other side were five such platforms, but they were more heavily decorated. The one in the center was the largest and most prodigious, which is where King Stitch, my father, and Queen Angel, my mother, sat. Neither of them had advisors, and Stitch was generally the only one who ever talked. The other four were decorated with three seats, far more comfortable then the others, where my three siblings and I sat. As the oldest, I sat on my parents' right, while the second oldest, Reif, sat on his left. To my right sat Bron, the third oldest, and on my far _far_ left sat Blair, the youngest, and the only girl other then my mother in the family. Just as I sat down, the meeting started.

Now, these meetings are all well and good, but I hate them. These Senate meetings are mostly for my dad to give the general population the idea that they have a say in how things are done. In truth, all my dad does is tell everyone about the issues that have arisen since last time, let us, his kids, talk about what we think should happen, and then he tells everyone what to do about it. While those in charge of the planets generally have some say in what goes on, there are some blanket laws that end up applying to _all_ planets. However, those of the royal family, meaning my siblings and I, had complete rule over our planets to do whatever we wish on them, even if it's against my dad's agendas. Of course, he always had something to say to you if you didn't do what he liked. He had stopped talking to me about my choices… four years ago, because he had gotten tired of arguing with me about what I was doing on Earth.

"Greetings Senate members." Stitch's voice rang throughout the large room. "I called this emergency meeting to discuss the recent attack made by the Rebels against the supply convoy heading to Klimno to deliver much needed food and medical supplies. The only survivor, Kent, is here beside me to tell you what happened."

I was completely caught off guard at this. The Rebels had been attacking weapon depots for quite some time, and that I could understand. If we had been supplying weapons or something to Klimno I would understand also, but it was food and med supplies. Why would they just attack it?

"I was there." Kent said, walking up to the microphone. "I was the pilot for the lead cargo ship. We were just entering orbit above Klimno when, from the other side of the planet, came a dozen ships bearing the Rebel insignia: two triangles, one empty and upside down, inside the larger gold one. Most of them were small fighters, but there were two battle cruisers there as well. We had minimal defenses, and our ships were disabled within a few moments. They boarded us and took all the supplies we had on board. After they finished, they set off an explosive, somewhere near the engines. They left, and we attempted to put out the fire, but to no avail. I was the only one who managed to make it to an escape pod before the fire hit the fuel tanks. With all the ships having been moved into such close proximity, it set off a chain reaction, and all six of our ships were soon completely destroyed."

By the way I saw my father digging his claws into Kent's back, I knew there was more to this story. I figured that the crew manifest probably hadn't been full, and that the ships were being piloted with minimum numbers; if that were the case, that would have left about thirty or forty a ship. While needlessly killing all those Trogs is still horrible, it wouldn't seem quite as bad to the people if they found out that there were really only about three hundred died, instead of six or seven hundred. If it were something else… well, I would probably have one hell of a time trying to figure it out. If I don't even know what it is, it's probably between three or four people, and tracking them down will be a pain. Actually, the sight of my father's claws in Kent's back brings back to my mind teh the main difference between my father and I: my people would gladly take any bullet that was meant for me without a second thought. Those under my dad would only help him if he would otherwise survive and end up taking revenge on anyone who hadn't helped him.

"As you can see," Stitch said as he took back the microphone, "we need to start taking far more drastic measures to weed out the Rebels on our planets. They are continuing to grow bolder with each passing day, and who knows what they'll attack next. Does anyone in the Royal Family have something to say on this matter?"

I decided to keep my mouth shut for this. I honestly had nothing to say against whatever my dad had in mind on this matter; they had no right to blow up six ships and kill almost three hundred Trogs, just because they disagreed with my father's rule over the Federation. After a moment, my brother Reif spoke.

"Clearly, we need to increase our surveillance, especially in hot zones. Also, I say that we start bugging all forms of communication so that we can better get an idea of how much support the Rebels are getting, and from who they are getting it from. Anyone found to be in league with the Rebels will be thrown in jail, and promptly executed."

My stomach churned at the last word that Reif said. But, he did have a point: the Rebels had been trying for quite some time to overthrow my father, just because they disagreed with the way he was running things. I agree that some of his methods are… extreme, but I don't use that as an excuse to kill Trogs left and right. In a way, I agreed with his solution with execution, even though I normally frowned on it. I turned to Tolan, waiting to hear what he had to say.

"Well, I agree with the increased surveillance, although there should be a limit to how much of the privacy we can invade." Tolan said. "But as far as the executions go, I think that they need to have more then just helping the rebellion against them."

I shook my head. "For once, I actually agree with Reif. The Rebels have been getting more and more out of line, and now they just slaughtered hundreds of Trogs for no reason, after stealing supplies that were needed on Klimno."

"Sir, I understand, but killing them isn't going to help us bring those dead back." This is why I liked Tolan: he's not a yes-man; if he disagrees with me, he makes sure I know it.

"I don't care." I said flatly. "I'm going to make sure they pay for killing all of them." Stitch got back onto the microphone, bringing our conversation to an end.

"Members of the Senate, here is the plan: we will bug all forms of communication, set surveillance up anywhere public, and execute anyone found to be in league with the Rebels. Press green for it, or red against it." As I said before, the votes really didn't matter; it would happen anyway. But most Trogs like staying on the king's good side, so they'll listen to him. I myself couldn't care less if I piss him off, but I generally don't; after all, I am to be king after him in the end. Whether he dies of a heart attack or decides to go into retirement, I get to run the Federation. Looking across the room, I saw every light turn green. Glancing over at Tolan, I sighed lightly and pressed the green button. Looking over at my father, I noticed that he looked slightly surprised at my decision. He probably figured that I would vote against it when I heard the word 'execution'. "This meeting is adjourned." He said. Short and sweet, as it always was. He liked to keep the meetings short, in case someone decided to start asking questions.

As usual, we sat and waited for everyone else to head out of the chamber. I never knew why we did this, but my guess was that my father didn't want anyone to see his body. When I was younger, he was a fine, fit Trog, and I actually envied his muscular form. The past couple years, though, he has been getting lazier, and by that fatter. Now, his stomach is so big that he can barely walk on his own two legs; it's actually kind of sickening. My mom has put on a little weight, but only a tad; about five pounds or so. She's still just as lovely as ever; just a bit more stomach. After everyone else was finally gone, we walked out and met up in the hallway just outside.

"Family dinner tonight." Stitch said as he waddled out of his stand. "Be there at six." I groaned inside my head; I hated eating dinner with my family, as I was the only one, besides my mother, that had any table manners. But it would only bring arguments and trouble if I refused to show up, so I decided it was best for me to agree, much to my displeasure. My mother motioned to me, so I told my advisor to go back to the ship, and I followed her. We walked all the way to her bedroom, and shut the door behind us.

I really liked this room. It had several ornate tapestries and a very vibrant color scheme. There were several chairs littered around the room, mostly near the three desks that sat in the room. There was a large queen-sized bed against one wall, with a mirror and a small bookshelf next to it. My mother sat down in one of the chairs, and I sat across from her.

"It's been a while since we've talked." She said.

I nodded. "Earth is quite a long way away from here, and I'm sure dad keeps you busy."

She nodded. "Well, I wanted to catch up a bit, but first I'd like to ask you about your vote at the Senate meeting."  
I sighed. "Well, normally I'm against executions, but they are killing hundreds of Trogs, and they attacked the ships that were going to supply med supplies and food to the Trogs on Klimno. If anyone deserves it, I think they do."

Angel nodded. "I guess I can see your point." She sat quietly for a moment, which made me a little uncomfortable. "How's your fiancée?" She asked.

I moaned. "Jezell is a power-hungry, sadistic, mischievous, annoying bitch who happens to have a great body and be the daughter of the second richest family in the Federation. Other then that, and her lack of a moral center, she's fine. How's dad?"

She chuckled. "Well, there have been times I liked him better. As for your girl… well, I wish there was something I could do, but Stitch was pretty adamant about you getting married to her. He wants to spread his influence through the top families for more power."

I leaned back in the chair. "I wish I could get rid of her and find my own girl. At least I wouldn't be afraid of a dagger in the back or poison in my waffles." I seriously keep expecting her to kill me. But I figure we need to at the very least be married before she tries that.

"Well, at least she has to wait until after your married, and then even until after you have a kid or two."

I shrugged. "Maybe she'll wait until dad steps down and I take power to get rid of me." I was starting to get tired of talking about Jezell, mostly because she always finds ways to piss me off. "So, anything else you want to talk about?"

She nodded. "I'm going to go to Earth with you tomorrow."

"Any… particular reason?"

"I'll tell you when we're safely on Earth." She replied. She had me a little worried with the way she was talking, but I decided that it was better not to push it at the moment. I glanced at my watch for the time.

"I would love to stay and talk, but I had better go change for dinner." I stood up. "I assume I'll see you there."

"Like I would be allowed to miss it." She responded. I walked out of the room, and headed back to my ship. I was careful to stay away from my siblings, as I had no desire to talk with them at all; sibling rivalry is rampant in my family, especially between Reif and I. He's always looking to get in dad's favor, probably some vain hope that he'll become king instead of me in the end. There's no way I will let him do that, though; the position as king is rightfully mine, and I will do anything I have to do to ensure my future as king over the Federation.

When I made it back to my ship, I headed straight for my workroom, which doubled as a bedroom, and locked the door behind me. I pulled off my senate robes, and tossed them in a corner, where a robot would pick it up and clean it off later tonight. I tossed the shirt I was wearing, a pitch black t-shirt, and my shorts into the same pile. Going over to the mirror, I took a look at myself.

Truthfully, I am a little obsessed with my body. I love the way the curve of my muscles just show under my silver fur. I flexed my arms a few times, and then started running my hand through my fur. Unlike most Trogs, which had three different shades of one color on their body, my fur was one solid color: silver. Not only that, but it shined when the sun hit it, which is why I tend to go around without a shirt on: so I can show off my fur. Other then the fur and muscle stuff, I pretty much look like my father, except my eyes were more hazel then black. I went over to my closet and opened it up to find something else to wear.

I'm really not sure why we have to wear clothes. My dad and all the other original Trogs didn't. Besides, unlike males of most species, we didn't have… how do I put this… external sexual parts. Female Trogs have breasts, yes, but they are covered with fur, so they would still look decent; though I have never seen a chick without her clothes on, so I can't say for certain. As for their… lower area, well… you gotta push the kids out _somewhere_, so I could see how they would go around wearing shorts or pants, a difference of a couple inches of fabric, but I just don't see the need for clothes. Just think of how much more of my body I could show off with nothing on; _everyone_ would look at the shining Trog then.

I decided to wear a pair of dark blue shorts along with another one of my black t-shirts, this one with sleeves that only came halfway to my elbows; the sun was still fairly high up in the sky, after all. On Turo, the sun almost never set on this side of the planet, so even though it was close to six o'clock, the sun still had quite a way to go before it was down. I retracted my antennae, and put on my lovely fedora. I pulled the front down just a tad, and looked back in the mirror.

"Perfect, as always." I muttered to myself. Walking out the door, I bumped into Ponck, who I had completely forgotten about, as I always did, as he was so quiet. "It's a family dinner Ponck; I'm more then old enough to escort myself." He shook his head, and I knew that he wouldn't let me go alone: he left my side unless I was sleeping, in the bathroom, or in my study. I sighed and walked off to the dinner, Ponck two steps behind me.


	2. Dinner With the Family

Disclaimer: I do not own Lilo and Stitch

Disclaimer: I do not own Lilo and Stitch.

Oh, and as far as I'm aware, there is no such thing as a hydronated or marinarated beverage.

Chapter 2: Dinner With the Family

The dining room was a private one that my parents used when they were here. They generally sat at a smaller table made for two people, but we ended up having to use the long table, generally used for seating eight. Obviously, as there were only six of us, we left the ends of the table open and sat on the side. My dad sat on one side, flanked by my mother and my sister. On the other side, I sat in the middle, flanked by my brothers: Reif on my right, and Bron on my left. Generally I sat next to my father, and I assumed that he wanted to be able to look at me when he started talking to me. The cooks brought out a variety of foods, including my favorite: Phrik. Not the most amazing of names, but the dish is delicious. Basically, it's a mix of steak and chicken, broiled in fifty different vegetables and spices. You then chop it up, mix it with white rice, and then topped with three different types of gravy. It's kind of weird, and I'm sure a pain in the butt to make, but the taste is amazing. Along with the food, there was a large assortment of drinks: alcoholic, caffeinated, carbonated, hydronated, sugared, lemoned, limed, oranged, and marinarated (don't ask). Overall, it was a lovely spread.

As was usual at our dinners, it was first come, first serve. Just as my dad said we could eat, his paws, quickly followed by that of my siblings, pounced on the food. My mother and I waited patiently for the war to subside, each doing our best to avoid the food that was flying. After a few minutes, things had settled down enough that I could grab some of my own food, followed by pouring myself a random beverage from the caffeinated section. While my siblings and father ate ferociously, food sometimes falling out of their mouths, I chose a slower, cleaner method to eating my food. I tried not to look too much at anything else other then my mother or my plate, as I always did. Unfortunately, I knew it was only a matter of time before my dad started talking to me, which would mean a 'lovely' shower of food.

"So," Stitch said, a piece of chicken falling out of his mouth, "I noticed your vote was slightly different then I thought."

"Yeah." Reif agreed, elbowing me in the ribs. "I lost five hundred bucks to Bron over your vote." Reif was probably the most annoying Trog I've ever known. He was about two inches taller then I am, which always ticked me off. He had my dad's fur colors, and definitely his brawn. I don't have the super strength, while he can manage the whopping three thousand times. I asked my mom about it, and she said I had 'too much of my mother in me'. I had night vision, but he had the whole caboodle; night, heat, etcetera. We both had four arms and supercomputer brains, but that never seemed to help him too much a lot of the time. Reif generally went around wearing a pair of black shorts, and nothing else. He had females everywhere looking at him, though I suspect his power was more to their liking then his body. I also suspect he likes the females more for… certain things they can do for him; to him, to be more precise. At eighteen, he's fairly stuck up, and is always ready to butt heads with me on almost any subject. Even though I'm three years ahead of him, he still thinks he's my better. He also very bad temper, and often lashes out at those who piss him off.

Bron was fairly the same as my brother. He was about my height, had more of a purple coloration instead of blue, super strength, tons of vision abilities, and a supercomputer brain. He only had two arms, but he never really cared about that: he hit harder then anyone else all the same. Bron tended to wear a green muscle along blue jeans, which he claimed were far more comfortable then shorts. He was thick sometimes; even with a supercomputer brain, he's still pretty clueless. Sixteen, he was pretty laid back about almost everything that happened, generally not caring unless it directly involved him making some decision.

My sister, Blair, was much like my mother. She had pink fur all over her body, and was a few inches shorter then me. She also didn't have super strength, but she did have all the sight abilities of my father. She had only two arms, and was always using them to either fix her appearance, or to smack us in the back of the head. She had to get by without a supercomputer brain, but she seemed to do just fine. Blair tended to wear a hot pink or red tank top, along with a pair of red shorts, both of which were always tight, and tended to show the… natural curves of her body. Sixteen, she had a decent eye for fashion, but was a little bossy. She loved to stick her nose in where it didn't go, and we were always only too happy to tell her to keep it out. Sadly, she was quite flirty, and loved to sleep around. My brothers and I had a pool going on how many Trogs she'll have slept with: I have fifty thousand riding on thirty-five.

"Look Reif," I said, careful not to look at the food he was busy chewing in his mouth, "I know that we almost never agree, but this rebellion has got to die. After killing all those innocent Trogs, execution seems a fair way to punish them. Don't you think so?"

"Oh yes." Bron said. "I say we kill all the Rebels. They've been nothing but trouble back my planet of Karthon."

"Nathon." I said, draining my glass dry. "You're in charge of Nathon. Karthon got polluted and was declared inhabitable seven years ago."

He looked confused for a moment. "Oh yeah! You're right!" My dad merely smacked his forehead and moaned.

"I really don't care what any of you think." Reif said, more to me then my other two siblings. "My rules are always improving the Federation." Several servants came in and started clearing away some of the food, and I decided to pour myself some more to drink.

I looked up at my younger brother. "Really, I wouldn't have as much of an issue with you or your rules if you would start thinking with your head instead of your hormones."

He stood up. "How about I fix your attitude."

I took a sip of my drink. "We've been over this before: I'm to agile for you to hit me, and I'm not strong enough to really hit you." It was true: I may not have my super strength, but I did have probably close to double my dad's reflexes, agility, and speed, which always kept me out of my brother's reach. With my three siblings being able to walk on walls, I was glad I had something to keep them at bay the rare times the ganged up on me. "Besides, dad wanted a nice dinner with all of us together. If we start fighting, he and mom will get upset." He grumbled a bit, and for a moment I thought he was actually going to try something. In the end, he decided to sit down and keep my parents happy.

"So." Stitch said once we settled down a bit. "Your mother is going to go on a vacation for a few months, so you'll have to contact her on Earth."

"Is that it?" Blair asked. "I had to sit with my pig-headed brothers to find out mom's going on _vacation_?"

Stitch shook his head. "No. What I wanted to tell you is that we have found a stable wormhole a few parsecs from Earth."

"Wormhole?" Bron asked.

"A theoretical anomaly of space-time that traverses from one part of the universe to the other." My dad said. "It's also possible that it could lead from our universe to a different one, or even travel forward or back in time."

"You lost me at the word anomaly." Blair said.

"I get it." I said. Honestly, I kind of did. I did some reading in my spare time, and anomalies in space had always been interesting. Now, I was far from being an expert, but I could understand the basics of what he was saying. "What do you have in mind?

"Well, we want to send a probe through and figure out where this thing goes." Stitch said. "After that, we'll probably send a science ship, escorted by two fighters, through it for a better look. With any luck, we may be able to use it somehow to get a jump on the Rebels, or even extend our rule."

"What if the other end isn't stable?" I asked.

Stitch shrugged. "Depends on what we find." He stood up and stretched, not that he really could. "When you get back to Earth, I want you to send a ship out and shove a probe into that thing and see what kind of data you get. I want this mission to be need to know, and no one outside this room or the ship you send needs to know." He yawned. "Well, I'm going to head to my room. Once your mother is on the ship, head back to Earth and get started immediately."

"I want to run this!" Reif argued angrily. "I have better science vessels then he does."

"I really don't give a damn." Stitch said. "He knows more about this then you do, and he's also a lot more trustworthy."

"But..."

"Not another word!" Stitch ordered. "I'm telling you that this is how it's going to go. Get going to your ship or your room here and leave me alone." He turned to me. "As soon as your mother is… _done_ with me, she'll come to the ship with her guard and her bags. Remember to get that data to me the moment you've got it." He waddled out of the room, followed by Angel. When the door shut behind them, I got up, hoping to avoid a confrontation.

"I'm going." I said.

Blair looked at me. "How do you think mom does it?"

I don't know about the other two, but I sure as hell was confused. "Does what?"

"Manages to have sex with someone as fat as dad." She said.

I gagged. "GOD Blair! I _don't_ need that image in my head!" I really didn't; it honestly was kind of a creepy image. "Where do you think of these things?"

"I don't think we _want_ to know." Bron said.

"I agree with both of them." Reif said. "You really need to keep your mouth shut about this kind of stuff. No one else wants to hear it."

While they continued on with the conversation, I slipped out the door and made my way back to my ship. I figured they were going to continue further along the sex line, and I really didn't want to hear about it. I knew that Reif already had his fiancée pregnant. Thinking about fiancées got me thinking about Jezell.

See, with us Royals and the other rich Trogs, all marriages are arranged, generally to get you as much power as possible. That's why I was tossed with Jezell, daughter of the second richest family in the Federation. It guaranteed us unlimited funds, and it also granted her a future seat as Queen of the Federation. We had been thrown together at fifteen, but we had never gotten along long enough to actually get married at nineteen, when Trogs are no longer considered kids.

Jezell is… unique. My dad thinks I should like her because she has a great body. I admit, she does have a very sexy body; I sleep with her every night, so I know. Everything else about her sucks, though. I mean, she is smart, but she's always looking to undermine my authority and make me do things I don't want. She's been trying to convince me for ages to let executions go, so this should at least make her happy for a bit. She despises the fact that I have 'half-breeds and cripples' on my planet and staff, but she's not about to change that. She's pretty devious, and I'm sure that she has plans to get rid of me in the end. What really worries me is when she decides that we're going to have kids; if I refuse, I shudder to think what she'll start doing to me, or slipping into my food, to make me do it with her in the end.

I shook my head to clear it; this line of thought was not going to get me any sleep if I kept going. I knew my mom would end up being a while, so I decided to wander around the city.

Turo is a fairly nice place: the entire planet is one big city. Now, I can see how that would be nice, but I always preferred the country to the city life. The country was nice and open, trees and fields down to the horizon. The city is filled with hustle and bustle, Trogs going this way and that, smog in the air, and there's always this weird smell in the air. I've never been able to place the smell, but it's a horrible… _rancid_ odor. I let my gaze wander over the countless faces of Trogs walking the streets, most of them probably on their way home. The normal work shifts had changed a few hours back, but there were always a lot of people walking the streets at night. With a planet wide curfew in place at ten o'clock, an hour from now, everyone tended to do their 'midnight stroll' right up to the curfew. Of course, no one ever cut it too close: violation of curfew tended to get one shot or arrested, sometimes both.

After I decided that enough time had gone by, I made my way back to my ship. I walked up the landing ramp, taking note that my mother was still not onboard yet. Sighing, I sat down in the nearest seat, resigned to wait for her arrival. Glancing at the watch on my left wrist, I noticed that she didn't have much time if she wanted to beat curfew. Just as that thought crossed through my mind, my mother appeared in the doorway, carrying two suitcases; I moved to help her.

"Did you really have to bring all this?" I asked.

She nodded as I put her luggage in one of the side compartments. "I need it all, don't worry about that. Can we get going?" I turned around to find that she had already strapped herself in to one of the seats, her two bodyguards on either side of her.

"Ok. I'll tell Lothon that we're all ready, and we'll be off in a sec. If you need me, I'll be in my room here." Ducking back into my room, I buckled myself into the seat I had back there and grabbed the radio connected to the cockpit. "We're all set back here Lothon. You can take off when you're ready."

"Affirmative." He answered. "Pre-check should take about two minutes, and then we'll be out of here." Just as he predicted, we were off and flying through space in under five minutes. After we entered hyperspace, I unbuckled my seat and started pacing around my room; it was a habit of mine when I was nervous, and not knowing what my mother wanted was making me nervous. After a few minutes of it, though, I decided to do something else. Locking my door, I pushed my closet to the side, revealing the hidden compartment behind it. Opening it, I pulled out what was hidden inside: my guitar.

No one else really knew that I liked to play guitar, not even my fiancée. I had told her a couple years back that I wanted to learn, but she laughed at me and told me not to waste my time. After that, I decided to make sure that no one found out that I played. I also kept hidden the fact that I could sing; an upper bass, to be precise. My mother knew I sang; we've done quite a few duets together. Dad also knows, as he's listened to us quite a few times. He said I had my mother's voice, which is good; my father's singing voice doesn't exist. The last time he sang in the shower, one of the servants nearly jumped off the fourth floor balcony. Since then, my dad has decided to remain silent while in the shower.

Plucking the strings one at a time, I tuned the guitar to perfection. Once I was satisfied that it was fine, I played a few chords while deciding what to play. Pulling out a pile of sheets, I started going through them until I found the song I had been working on. The music itself was done; I just hadn't found the right lyrics to it yet. I started playing it, hoping that, by some chance, an idea would hit me. Unfortunately, after three times through it, nothing came to mind. Slightly pissed off, I put the guitar and music away, and then decided to go see how my mother was doing.

Opening the door, I saw she was fast asleep, lying across three of the seats. She had me worried; her sudden want to come to Earth with me was completely not like her. If she planned a trip or vacation, especially involving me, she would plan it weeks in advance, and remind me about it almost every day leading up to the trip. To just pop up and tell him that she was going with him was not like her. Whatever this was about, it was really getting to her.


	3. Confession

Disclaimer: I do not own Lilo and Stitch.

I'm sorry about the long wait, but I've been trying to wade through a few chapters of Vampiric Link, for which I have serious writer's block. Also, with AP Physics as a class, I get mauled by the overload of homework. I will do what I can to get these out faster.

Chapter 3: Confession

As we neared Earth, I strapped myself in the seat next to my mother, and looked out the window.

"I'm so glad you put all those environmental laws in place: Earth looks so much lovelier and clearer now." She was right, of course. When I had taken control of Earth, the air was filled with smog, the waters were almost completely polluted, and most of the trees on the planet were gone. It took forever to get it all cleaned up, but we were still fixing the forests: trees take time to grow. The waters were now crystal clear, and the air was fine and crisp. With factories working on a mixture of water, solar, and wind power, there were no emissions from fossil fuels being poured into the atmosphere.

"I do know what I'm doing when I put up laws." I said. "The humans had almost run the planet into the ground, nearly beyond repair. They almost blew up the Moon, the idiots." It was true: someone had figured out that, deep beneath the Moon's surface, there was a large supply of frozen oil. They had a plant to drill through to it, and then set off a bomb to liquefy it long enough to pump up some, and then do it again and again until they got the oil. The morons decided to use a miniature nuclear device liquefy the core all at once. What they didn't take into account was the impact and effect it would have on the rock part of the Moon: it would blow it in two, and send both halves crashing into Earth. The old Council, the one that used to run the galaxy, caught them before they could destroy themselves, which is how they finally found out about aliens, and the experiments living in Hawaii.

"May I have your attention." Lothon called over the intercom. "We will be entering the atmosphere of Earth momentarily, and will then be landing in the palace hanger. Please return to your seats and fasten your seatbelts tightly." We didn't talk during our descent, and did not start talking until we had landed at the palace.

"So, when are we going to talk?" I asked her as we left the ship.

"We'll talk later tonight, after dinner." She said. "I'm going to go to my room and relax for a bit. You should get some sleep: you look like you're about to fall over." It was probably true: I hadn't slept all night, and felt like I was going to pass out. Hugging her goodbye, I took the lift up to my personal chambers on the top floor. I normally walked around the palace to keep in shape, but I didn't think I could make it to my bed in one piece walking up all those flights of stairs. Leaving Ponck at my door, I walked over to my large bed, which was covered in black sheets. I dropped my fedora on the table next to my bed, tossed my shirt into the laundry shoot for my servants to take care of later, and collapsed on my bed. Crawling under the sheets, I put my head against my pillows and closed my eyes. I sighed happily, thinking about how no one was around to disturb me here.

Boy, was I wrong. No sooner had I closed my eyes then my door opened and shut. I know who it was, and I was pissed: couldn't she ever give me some space? "Ayron, is that you?" Jezell asked.

"If it isn't, whoever's sleeping in my bed goes to the dungeon." I mumbled. Now that she was here, the chances of me getting to sleep were slim.

"I thought you would have been back last night." She said, sitting on the edge of my bed. I glanced at her; she was actually kind of hot. She was decorated in lime green fur, except on her stomach, which was more of a yellow. She was wearing a pink shirt that fit quite tightly across her chest, and a pair of even tighter aqua blue shorts.

"My father wanted a family dinner, so I had to stay. I thought about calling you, but decided you'd survive without me."

She sighed. "It's hard for me to do anything if I don't know when my husband is going to be around."

I shot her a glare that could've killed her, if it could do such a thing. "We aren't married yet."

"I still don't see why you don't want me." She said, lying down next to me. "I mean, I'm the perfect person for you."

I wanted to gag at that, but I knew it would only infuriate her. The thought of her and me being married made me want to shoot myself, but I was careful not to let that on too much. She was quite sensitive on the subject of our relationship; or at least, that's what she let on. I was pretty sure that all she cared was that we were 'married' so that she could use all of my money that she wanted. She already had a fortune from her parents, and I didn't see how many more weapons and shoes she could possibly fit in the house.

"Is there anything in particular you want?" I asked. "I was hoping to catch up on a few hours of sleep, since I was over at my father's for so long."

She propped herself up with a few pillows. "I noticed your mother was here; it would have been nice to say something before hand."

I rolled over so I wouldn't have to look at her. "If I had known sooner then when she got on my ship, I would have. She didn't exactly tell me about this vacation that she's taking."

"I guess the stress must be getting to her." I rolled my eyes, but let her continue speaking. "She's just not strong enough to rule over all these planets. There are few who _can _handle such things."

"And I'm sure that you're one of them." I muttered.

She pretended not to hear me. "_I _could handle the pressure that comes with ruling." She stroked my head. "And I know that _you_ can, as well. The sooner that we take charge, the sooner things will get done right."

"Like what?" At this point, I was just playing along with her. I've had to listen to this talk, in several variations, frequently. At first I'd tried to get out of it, but it only made her angry and get more into it.

"Like killing all the half-breeds and cripples." She said. "They don't deserve life at all, unlike us. They're vile, incomplete things that don't belong in the natural order of the universe." I really hated it when she got like this, but attempting to argue with her wouldn't get me the peace and quiet I wanted.

"I was hoping to get some sleep." I said.

"Wouldn't you rather talk to me?" She asked.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm really tired; you know I can't sleep while on a ship."

She sighed. "Well, I couldn't sleep, because I was worried that you hadn't called or come back." I felt her climb under the covers, so I darted out of the bed.

"Actually, I'm going to grab a shower first." I called over my shoulder, quickly closing the bathroom door behind me and locking it. Sighing heavily, I sat down on the floor with my back to the door.

It wasn't exactly that I didn't like her: I mean, she was pretty hot. She just… wasn't my type. She was too self-centered, too much into gaining power. Don't get me wrong: I wanted nothing more then to be king, but I could bide my time until my father stepped down. Anything she wanted, she expected to get it immediately. If I didn't live forever, I might be in a bit more of a hurry to ascend the throne.

Getting up, I went over to the shower and turned the handle all the way to the hot side. Tossing my clothes onto the floor, I waited a moment for it to heat up, and then I stepped in. I relaxed under the hot waterfall, letting it wash away all my problems for the next few minutes. The room was quickly filled with steam from the super-heated water, and I enjoyed being able to breath the heavy, warm, moist air.

When I'd had enough of my shower, a good twenty minutes or so, I turned off the water, got down on four paws, and shook myself dry; it was a habit I had picked up from my father when I was younger. It was faster then a towel, and I never missed a spot. Grabbing a clean pair of shorts out of one of the cabinet drawers, I slipped into them and opened the door, shivering slightly at the sudden temperature change. Much to my dismay, Jezell was still sitting on the bed.

"Took you long enough." She complained. "Any longer, and I would have thought you had drowned."

"You wish." I muttered. Lying back down on the bed, I turned away from her. "Now, if you would be kind enough to let me sleep in peace."

"Of course." She said, smiling sweetly. I sighed inwardly, knowing that she wasn't going to leave. I closed my eyes, and started drifting off to sleep. As I expected, it was only a moment before she was under the blanket with me, her arms wrapped around my chest. I was actually ok with it; it felt good to have someone who at least was supposed to like me this way. Of course, when she had stuck her hand down my pants one night, I ended up giving her a black eye. I mean, when you're asleep, and you wake up with someone's hand in your pants, what the hell are you going to think? I did apologize, and bought her a new fighter to try out; she was an amazing pilot. I drifted off to sleep Jezell and my mother both on my mind. It was funny how most of my problems seemed to revolve around women.

**Ten Hours Later**

The first thing I did when I woke up was glance at the clock about a yard from my face: 1400 hours. Jezell was still sleeping by my side, and I couldn't help but smile. For all the trash I talked about her, I could never hold anything against her when she was sleeping; she looked like an angel. But the moment she wakes up, watch out: apart from her usual issues, she is NOT a morning person. I had learned quickly after the first week to keep my distance from her for the first half hour or so after she awoke. Her arms were still around me, and her hands were on my chest. Enjoying the added warmth that her body provided, I decided to give it a few minutes before getting up; it was winter, after all, and I never turned the heat on very high, so it was a slightly chilly fifty-five degrees. I personally enjoyed it a little cold, but not while I was trying to sleep. When I finally decided to get up, I attempted to slip quietly out of my bed. However, before I had gone a few inches, her arms tightened around me.

"Stay and enjoy the heat." She whispered, yawing quietly. "I don't want to get up yet."

"If you're cold, then turn up the heat." I responded, but I settled back anyway.

"But you like it cold." She responded. She turned me over, pulling me tightly against her body. "I bet we could create our _own_ heat." She whispered, stroking my back.

I rolled my eyes. "You know how I feel about that."

She kissed my lips briefly. "Yeah, but you know we have to have kids eventually." Truthfully, part of me wanted to have sex with her; it really did. My main issue was that I wasn't exactly sure how. My dad had never 'talked' with me, and it wasn't something I felt would lead to a good search results using the Galanet. I always figured that, as a last resort, I could always ask my mom how it worked: she had given birth to me and my siblings, after all.

"You know how my dad feels about you getting pregnant before were married." I said.

"That's why I have a bottle of pills sitting in the bathroom." She said. "All ready for the taking."

I rolled my eyes. "When did you turn all flirty?"

She shrugged. "I'll do what I have to, to get what I want."

"Time to get up." I said. Breaking free of her arms, I rolled out from under the blanket, and was hit by a wave of chilly air: it made me feel lively. I tossed my current pair of shorts down the laundry shoot, and walked over to my dresser to find something else to wear. I could feel Jez staring at me, my butt and such to be exact, but I ignored her. Tossing on a pitch black t-shirt and shorts, I stretched for a moment before heading out the door.

As I normally did in the mornings, I walked down the five flights of stairs to get to my kitchen, where my servants were sitting around idly. When I came in, one of them came and asked if I needed anything. I thought about the time, and decided, since I ate in four hours, I didn't want to ruin my appetite for eating with my mother. I asked him to toss a sandwich together, and he did so within a few minutes. I thanked him for it, and walked down the halls munching it. I wasn't sure where I was headed, until I came to my favorite door in the entire palace. Finishing my sandwich, I opened the door and stepped inside, closing the door behind me.

The entire room was filled with medieval arms and armory, which decorated nearly every inch of space that wasn't needed to walk through it. I gave the armor a healthy glance, especially the suit that was supposedly made of dragon scales, and turned to the weapons. Crossbows, longbows, maces, swords, and everything in-between hung around the room. I had always preferred swords the most because of the simplicity of wielding them. I took two longswords off of their racks and started going through several swings and parries with them. When I was done with them, I went to a two-handed sword, and continued down the line of melee weaponry for a good hour before I finally got tired of it.

Locking the door of the room, I went to the one empty corner where a bench sat. Moving it out of the way, I whistled a quick tune from the chorus of the song I was working on. A small patch in the wall, just large enough for me to fit through, opened up and I stepped through. The lights came on in my hidden alcove, and I smiled grimly at the sight.

Unlike the room before, this room was filled with modern weaponry, mostly heavy blaster rifles, but also plenty of blaster pistols, concussion grenades, and a handful of LPASR: Laser Propelled Anti Ship Rockets. I had bought a large portion of it myself; some of it had been a 'contribution' from some businessmen, and the rest I confiscated from supposed terrorists and rebels. I admit, I have a thing for weapons, which is why I enjoyed having all these around. Although, I admit this also, it was a small insurance policy incase my father decided he never wanted to give up the throne. No one besides me knew about this room, and I was very careful to keep it that way.

Leaving both the modern and medieval weapon rooms behind, I wandered through the palace again, making a beeline for the gardens, where I figured my mother would be. Yeah, it'd be more polite to wait until she called me to talk, but I was really itching to know what she had to say to me.

The gardens covered most of the top floor, which was a considerable amount of space. I had let my mother design this part, as she was the plant freak, and I have to admit that it turned out quite well. She had imported many exotic plants from all around Earth, but nothing from any other planets. I had thought about getting some of the cool plants that they have on Turo, but decided against it to keep with my mother's original design. I didn't come up here as often as I went to my medieval armory, but it was a nice, quiet place where I could think when I had a serious predicament bothering me. Jez never came here unless she had to: she enjoyed the smell of cash more then the smell of nature.

Walking towards the center, I found my mom sitting on one of the benches that dotted the level, so you could sit down when you wanted to. I sat down next to her, and we were silent for a long while. After about ten minutes, I turned to her.

"So what's got you all worked up?" I asked.

She sighed. "A lot of things, unfortunately. Even more unfortunate is the fact that I can only deal with a few of them myself."

"And you think I can help?"

"Well… there's a good amount of it that relies on you, whichever way you decide."

"Decide about what?" I was really getting anxious now.

"Before I get into my problem, there's something you need to know. But you have to promise me that what is said here will not leave this garden." Her voice was laden with worry and fear, which compelled me to nod. Sending Ponck a fair distance out of hearing range, I turned to her.

"What?" I asked.

She looked into my eyes. "Stitch is your father, but… I'm not your mother."


	4. Mother

Disclaimer: I do not own Lilo and Stitch.

I am SO sorry that it has taken me so long to get this stuff out. However, since I started having issues with AP Physics, I have been allowed little/no computer time lately. I wish I had more time to write, but that's just not an option at the moment until I can pull myself out of my grade issues. However, since you're here for a chapter and not a three thousand word explanation about my current issues in life, let's get to the chapter.

Oh, but a quick note first: this chapter has a lot of sexual references to it… well, you're warned. I'll probably have to up the rating just to be safe. In fact, I'll do that right after I post this chapter.

Chapter 4: Mother

I stared at my mother… Angel, completely lost for words. I was vaguely award that my mouth was hanging open, and I was sure that my face was covered in complete shock: that's how I felt. After a moment, she smiled slightly and closed my mouth with one of her paws. "Walk with me." I got up and held her paw as we walked further into the garden. "It's a long story, but one that you deserve to know."

"A couple years before your father became king, he spent most of his time either here on Earth, which was rare, traveling from planet to planet, or on Turo with the Grand Council Woman trying to find a way for the growing experiment population to get more planets under their control, since we were breeding faster then the rabbits here on Earth. With all the running around he did, he never really settled down too much on Earth. Lilo was still around then; Jumba had managed to find a way to extend the life of humans, while keeping them in their prime age, around sixteen for Lilo when Jumba invented it. She was actually really happy with it, since she was in love with Stitch."

"Did he love her?"

Angel nodded. "He did, but he was never around long enough for anything to happen. As for myself, I was dating on and off at that point with several of the experiments; and yet it always came back around to me dating Reuben. You never really got to see him, but he was so nice, handsome, charming… at least, charming in his own unique way. He and I got pretty serious, but I can talk about that later."

"Your father has finally set up deal with the Galactic Council, and he was trying to gather up enough support for not only the planets, but also the power to rule the planets as he saw fit. He managed to work up enough people to help him, so he came back here and settled down while his supporters and employees did the work. In the year and a half he was here, the relationship between him and Lilo grew fast. After a few months, it was rare to ever see them apart, except when they were sleeping, though that also changed a few months after that. To tell you the truth, I'm not really sure exactly when they had sex, but Nosy said it was right before he left to do his whole 'thank you for choosing me' speech. Lilo stayed behind to give birth where Jumba, who was pretty old by then, could help deliver it and make sure nothing went wrong."

I looked at her. "And did it?"

She shook her head. "Nope. I was there supporting Lilo, and it went smoothly. You came out, and she named you on the spot. A few days later, and she took you home and started taking care of you." She fell silent, and I knew that something was wrong. I decided to give her a moment, before asking her to keep going, which she did. "About three weeks after she gave birth, there was a problem. Apparently, there was an unforeseen side effect from the serum Jumba gave her to stay alive, and it started killing her. Jumba… Jumba did everything he could to try and save her, but nothing worked. She died when you were three and a half weeks old. Jumba died a few days later from his venerable age, although I'm sure that the stress had certainly played a part in it. Stitch was torn apart when he got word of the deaths. He became cold, distant, and horribly violent. After a week he settled down, but he was never the same."

"What happened to me after that?"

Angel smiled lightly. "I took you in. Reuben and I, as I said before, had gotten serious about our relationship, and we decided that it was the least we could do for Stitch after all this. So he and I adopted you and took care of you for a few years." Glancing over, I saw tears coming to her eyes: I knew, deep down, that something had happened to make her leave Reuben. This time, I let the quiet sit until she was ready again.

"After a few years of running the empire, Stitch decided that he needed a queen to rule with him, and he wanted me. I refused, because I loved Reuben. He and I argued about it for a few months, with me continuously refusing him; you were only three at the time, so you probably don't remember. When he saw that I refused to waver, he changed the equation: he ordered Reuben into his secret army, forcing him away from me. When he was gone, Stitch called me so many times a day. After a year, and after he told me that he was going to reorder Reuben into his damn group every year until he died, I caved in and agreed. The next day, he sent his personal shuttle for me, which took me straight to his palace. That same night, he had sex with me, which pretty much meant that I was stuck with him. I got pregnant, had your half-siblings, and… well, you know the rest."

We sat down again on a bench. I turned to here, trying to figure out how to phrase my questions. "How serious did you and Reuben get?"

She sighed. "We were actually probably going to get married if he hadn't been taken away from me."

The next question I had was a little… personal, but I didn't think she'd mind too much. "How far did you two go?"

Angel chuckled. "He and I did have sex once right before he left, but I never got pregnant out of it, or Stitch probably would have left me alone. And there was so much more love involved when Reuben and I did it."

Having gotten a little more info then I wanted, I turned to my biggest question. "Why tell me now? Why not five years ago, or five years from now?"

She looked at me. "Like before, the equation changed. About six months ago, when I was picking up some papers that Stitch had dropped, I came across the reenactment of Reuben's role in Stitch's private force. I tore it up, shredded it, burned it, and then ate it to make sure Stitch wouldn't find it. I sent out an order under Stitch's name to have him housed in a special apartment close to the palace. When he got there, I paid him a visit. He was so happy to see me, and I was overjoyed that he was still the same Reuben as before, with just a few scars that made him look all the more perfect. He spent two days going over what had happened to him, and then I spent the next four, part of it crying on his shoulder, telling him about what had happened to me and how sorry I was. After I got it out of me, he asked me if I wanted to pick up a little behind where we had left off. I was still desperately in love with him, but I wasn't sure if he'd really want me after what had happened. I agreed, and we saw each other often, but we were careful to keep it a secret, so no one would alert Stitch that Reuben was back. About a month ago, we were right where our relationship had suddenly ended, and he and I were making love again. We did it often, both endlessly lost in our emotions for each other after being separated. Two weeks ago, after a particularly enjoyable five minutes with him, I told him that I was pregnant, and he was going to be a father. He was so happy; he wanted to take me to one of the succeeded planets right away, where we could marry and make everything official. I was worried that Stitch would come after us and kill him, so I told him I'd find another way."

In that moment, I finally caught on. "And that's why you came to me: to get married and ask for asylum with my… uncle, right?"

Angel nodded. "Exactly. Once word got out that I had left Stitch, I knew that you would be the only person willing to stand up for me and protect us from Stitch's wrath. But, in doing this, Stitch would…"

"He would declare me and my planet a traitor to him and the Federation, declaring war on me and my allies, effectively destroying any chance I have of ever ruling anything."

Angel sighed. "I know it's a big decision, and I wish it didn't have to rest with you. However, you're the only one I can trust."

I had no clue what to say. In less then an hour, the entire foundation of my reality had been crushed and destroyed beyond all possible reason. My mother was a human, and Angel was actually my adoptive mother. Stitch was still my dad, but that didn't give me much reassurance. And now, the woman who I had trusted everything to, wanted me to finally return the favor, but return with one so large that I was never going to see my dreams of ruling over all the Trogs. My head was spinning, so I told her the only thing I could. "I need to think about this."

She nodded. "I know. But, before I leave you to think, I have something you need." Reaching into one of her pockets, she pulled out a fist-sized black disk, probably a good two inches thick, and handed it to me.

"What is it?" I asked, turning over in my hand to see all around it.

"When Lilo was dying, Jumba made her that. It's a cross between a database, a memory scanner, and a holographic projector. In essence, it is a simplified version of Lilo. It has all of her thoughts, her feelings, her dreams, her hopes… everything about her. If you turn it on, it will be as close as you will ever come to actually meeting your birth mother yourself. She and Jumba wanted you to have that when you were old enough and ready: that's now, I believe." She stood up and looked down at me. "I think it's time you finally knew exactly what you and your mother have to talk about." She walked away, disappearing into the depths of the garden.

I continued to turn the thing over, pouring over everything I had learned. I knew that Angel was telling the truth: there was no doubt about that when I had it said to me. It explained why my features were slightly more human, along with my hazel colored eyes. Then there was the question of what to do with my adoptive mother and my uncle: should I help them? _Could_ I help them? I knew from experience that my father got what he wanted by any means necessary, and he almost never fought fair to do it. I had no way of standing up to him with any hope of it ending in any other way then a death sentence for me, Angel, and Reuben. Casting that aside for the moment, I came to the matter at hand: do I have the courage to turn this on? What if my real mother is disappointed in what happened to me? After a few minutes, I decided _Ah, what the hell_, and activated it, setting it on the floor in front of me.

The device hummed and whirred for several moments, undoubtedly accessing the database and sorting through it. After that, the top lit up, and an image slowly came into focus. When I saw her smiling at me, a part of me clicked instantly, recognizing the face.

"Mom."

She slightly taller then me, no doubt she made sure to stay small for Stitch. She was wearing a tight red shirt that showed off her stomach and curves, along with a pair of knee length jeans. Her hair came halfway down her back, an endless flowing wave. Looking into her eyes was almost too much for me: it was as if she and I were reflections of a part of each other's soul. She had a kind, loving smile on as she looked at me.

"Hey Ayron. I'm glad I can finally see you all grown up."

I was completely at a loss for any coherent thought to pass through my head; all I could manage was a light whimper. She sighed, her smile still on her face. "How are you?" Gulping slightly, I stood up and took a few steps closer to her.

"I'm fine. I'm in charge of Earth."

She nodded. "Angel's been plugging in data ever since I made this." Her face fell. "I really wish I could have been alive to see you grow up, to play with you, to keep loving Stitch. Even so, you seem to have done fine by yourself."

I shrugged, starting to feel more comfortable. "My mom… I mean, Angel gave me a lot of help growing up."

She smiled lightly. "I know. Right after you came out of me, and it was far easier then the one Nani went through with David, Angel promised me to take care of you if anything were to happen to me." She looked around. "This your garden?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I've always had a thing for nature." We were quiet for a moment. "So, do mind if I ask you questions?"

She shook her head. "Not at all. And don't worry about whatever they are: you can get as personal as you want."

I nodded. "So, when you started taking the drugs to keep you alive, was that for Stitch?"

Lilo thought for a moment. "Sort of. Part of it was because I wanted to live forever, like any human being, and the other part was because I was hoping that Stitch would settle down enough for us to have an ohana."

"And that did happen."

She nodded. "Yep. Once he got enough people working for him, he came back here and spent time with me. We were already pretty close, which got us deeply in love all the quicker." She sighed dreamily. "I still remember that night before he left like it was yesterday."

"The night before he left to be king?" I was surprised: it was much easier then I thought it would be, talking with my mother and all.

She nodded, a happy smile on her face once again. "Yeah. He and I had been out on a date, which is pretty normal to see humans and Trogs together in public back before Stitch's whole campaign against half-breeds. He and I had had a martini or two each; not enough to be drunk, but definitely enough to be a little heavy on our emotions. After that, we went back to my house, and went up to our room. He and I started kissing, but then we really got into it. The best part was when…"

"Mom!" I complained, covering my ears. "I really don't need to hear that!"

"Sorry." She said.

I brought my hands down. "I'm still surprised that humans and Trogs can have sex together, much less are compatible."

Lilo gave me a weird look. "Did your dad _ever_ talk to you about that kind of stuff?"

I shook my head. "Never really came up, and I never had the urge to search on the Galanet for it: you can get some pretty weird pictures nowadays on that thing."

She sighed. "Ok, I'm just going to go into the basics. Pretty much, the way male Trogs do it is they have their… their genitals inside their body until they're hormones start pumping and bring it out. The way I always did it with Stitch was to massage right below his waist and above his legs, and the way he'd purr and groan always made me happy." She clearly saw the look I was giving her, so she quickly backtracked. "Then, of course, the girls have their lower extremities, and then their breasts can be kept in one of two ways: they can either keep them 'inside', under a few layers of skin, or they can have them out and exposed."

Huh? "How do you know that?" I asked. "You're not an experiment."

Lilo rolled her eyes. "Thanks for noticing. All I did was talk to Angel and Jumba about it, and they told me everything."

"Ok, enough of the sex talk." I said. It was interesting, and at the same time slightly embarrassing. "So, if Angel's been keeping you up to speed, then you know about her and Reuben?"

Lilo sighed. "Two love birds torn apart. I felt so sorry for her when I found out. I'm glad they got back together, but this just creates a whole new set of problems for them."

"And me." I sighed. "I want to help them, but it will probably mean us ending up dead."

Lilo nodded sadly. "I wish I could help you out, but there's only so much I can do." She glanced around the garden again. "I really like what you've done with this: it's so nice and peaceful. Angel tells me you play the guitar, also."

I nodded happily. "I'm one of the best."

"You sound so much like Stitch when you say that." She said, 'sitting' down on the device.

I shrugged. "Guess I got a bit more of him in the trade then you."

Lilo nodded. "Yeah, but I was happy when you looked up at me with your eyes: the color was so beautiful."

We stayed and talked for probably another hour or so. Everything after that was pretty much us talking about my half-siblings and my 'fiancée' Jezell. Sadly, we were cut short by my growling stomach.

"You're hungry." Lilo stated.

"Only a little." I lied, wanting to continue talking with her.

"Go eat." She said. "I need to recharge anyway, so we wouldn't be talking much longer anyway."

I sighed. "Fine. But I can talk to you later, right?"

She chuckled. "You can talk to me whenever you want. Just make sure I have enough power for it, ok?" I nodded. "Ok, then I'll talk to you later." I walked up to her, wanting to hug her, but my arms passed right through her. I saw her eyes beginning to tear up. "I love you." She said.

"I love you too." I whispered back, the device turning off. I picked it up and held it close to my chest: no one would ever take this from me. Ever.


	5. Interrogation

Disclaimer: I do not own Lilo and Stitch.

No, sorry to disappoint all of you, but I am still very much alive. After the writer's block monster attacked, robotics started up and sucked away any free time that I might possibly have had to work on this, along with my weekend job. Robotics ended about two weeks ago, and I have been trying to get this chapter back out. Thank you for your patience, and I will try and get these out sooner and more frequently. However, since my computer has gone on the fritz (something about a bad logic board or something), it is getting repaired. It should be back by Saturday or Sunday, and I will recover all of my files from my external drive and get right back to it.

Chapter 5: Interrogation

On my way back down from the garden, I slipped the device that held the only part of my mother I would ever know into a small compartment that sat behind my computer. With a bit of rewiring, some shifting, and a lot of wedging, I was able to hook it up to the computer so it would be able to charge and receive more information. After I was done, I put on a quick change of clothes and went downstairs to eat.

"Something on your mind?" Jezell asked as I sat at the table.

_More then you are ever going to know_. "Nothing. Nothing at all." I lied, something that I was generally decent at.

She shrugged. "Whatever." She sat down on the right side of the table, while Angel sat at the left. "So what do you plan on doing on your vacation?" Jezell asked.

Angel shrugged. "Not too much. Probably go visit the Hanging Gardens at some point, maybe visit the ruins in Egypt at some point."

"How long are you going to be here?" She pressed.

"Oh, for a while I'm sure; I won't know the exact amount of time for a few days."

Jezell opened her mouth for another question, but I cut her off. "Jez, please stop interrogating my mother and let's eat some food." Just as we were about to tuck in, one of my servants came in with my communicator.

"Sir, you have a priority one call from Constable Jhack."

That had me worried, I have to tell you. The constable almost never called me, and it had never been a priority one before. Whatever it was, it was definitely very important.

I took the phone from my servant and walked out into the hall. "What is it?" I asked.

"A few minutes ago we apprehended someone who has been high on the RWL." The Rebel Watch List, the RWL, was for people who we thought were on the rebellion, mostly larger players. The higher up they were, the more instrumental they were to it.

"How high?"

"We haven't gotten a name yet, but she fits the description of one of the top ten."

"Really?" I asked. Looks like I was going to have to hand out some awards later.

"Yes sir. One of our inside men on the rebels tipped us to her location, and I took the Alpha Team to take her down. We lost three men, but the other three and I were able to take her down and into custody. We took her straight to the high security cell and I called you. What do you want me to do now?"

I thought for a moment. Normally, I would just cart her off to my dad and let him deal with her. However, for some reason, I had to urge to go and see her for myself before sending her away. "I'll be down there in a few minutes to take a look at her myself."

"Aye sir. We'll prepare for your arrival. Anything else?"

"Yeah: tell Alpha that all of you are getting an award, a bonus, and a raise, and that I'll honor the fallen at the funeral."

"Yes sir. Thank you sir." The line disconnected and I put the communicator away.

"So much for dinner." I muttered. Pulling one of my servants aside, I had him to go start up my hovercraft, before returning to Angel and Jezell.

"I have to go to the prison block. Apparently they captured a high priority rebel."

"How long are you going to be?" Angel asked.

Now that was a good question; one that I didn't have the answer to. "Probably won't be too long, but I will probably have to talk to the constable, so don't wait up for me." I thought about grabbing a coat or something, but decided that I probably wouldn't need it since it was going to be a nice night out. I made my way down to the garage and jumped into my favorite midnight-black hovercraft.

"Open the gates." I ordered. Ponck jumped onto the back of my craft as the doors opened, and we flew off shortly after.

The prison wasn't that far away, especially by hovercraft, so we were there in no time at all. I parked up on the roof, like I always do, and dismounted. I turned around, and Constable Jhack was standing there with Alpha Team, saluting me.

"Thank you for coming sir." He said.

I saluted him back, and they relaxed. "You have her here?"

He nodded. "If you'll follow me sir, I'll take you to the cell. She's got the maximum security cell down at the bottom with the entire building between her and freedom."

I nodded. I had assumed that that would be the place where they would take her, but I figured that Jhack had protocols to follow and all that, so I let it slide. "What do you intend to do with her?"

"That's up to you sir." He said, leading me down several flights of stairs. "We're supposed to ship her to your father for execution, but I was wondering if you wanted to do anything before that."

I shrugged. "Maybe if she knows something we can interrogate her, but other then that there isn't anything special." Jhack paused at the bottom door, swiped his security pass, and opened it.

"Aye sir. I'll call your father about it then."

I nodded. "Worst case I can call him off, but I doubt that there will be much need for that." After a series of checkpoints and doors, we made it to the door of the cell.

"She's tied up and restrained a dozen different ways sir, so it's safe to go inside if you wish."

I nodded. "I do." The door slid open, and I stepped inside and it shut behind me.

As I looked at the figure before me, I had to work hard not to let my jaw drop: she was the most beautiful Trog I had ever seen. She was my height, and covered in a light grey fur, that turned hot pink across her front and around her eyes. Her claws were finely shaped down short, but they still looked razor sharp. There was a cut across her forehead, and quite a bit of dried blood on her face. As I looked at her, I couldn't help but note the firm outline of her breasts that her tight shirt let you see: I figured, after my talk with my mom, that this particular chick had hers put away at the moment, but it was kind of sexy all the same.

"You gonna stare all day, or do you have something to say." She said in a soft but commanding voice. I admit, I did jump a little; I could've sworn that she was unconscious.

"I have a lot of things to say." I said quietly, coming closer. "But first I would like to know your name."

She gave a light chuckle. "And why should I tell you? You probably already know it."

I shrugged. "Your name within the rebellion, I doubt, matches the same as your given name."

"What's the difference?" She asked, looking at me. "When I entered the rebellion, I was reborn from a life without meaning to a noble cause. Flayr is my name, it was my name, and it will always be my name."

To be quite honest, this chick was starting to creep me out a bit. I hadn't been in the room for more then a minute or two, and I was already getting nervous around her: she had that air around her that she was waiting to jump and kill you. And the way she talked… it was mesmerizing, like the song of a Siren.

I was pulled from my thoughts when she spoke again. "What about you? A noble like yourself _must_ have a name."

Looking down at myself, I didn't see how she tagged me as a noble. I was wearing my casual wear: plain black t-shirt and a roomy pair of navy blue shorts. I even had my black and gray tennis shoes on. Then it clicked, and I wondered how I didn't see it before. She was a rebel; they'd all know our names and faces by now.

I leaned against the wall not to far from her. "If you know I'm a noble when I'm dressed like this, you must know my name already, especially for a rebel so high in the chain of command."

She flashed a small smile. "Well then Ayron Angel, I guess we _both_ knew each other before we met in this room."

I shrugged. "I do my homework; and so do you, by the looks of it." We sat in silence a moment before I spoke again. "So… you're seventh in the chain then?"

She eyed me. "I don't know: am I?"

I groaned mentally: I hated it when people played games like this. But it didn't matter too much any more. Now that I knew for sure who she was, I would have her taken to the palace and have her interrogated by Ponck: he has fun with these things after all. I left the room then, and pulled Jhack aside.

"I want you to drug her and take her up to one of my interrogation rooms. When you're ready, give me a call and I'll let Ponck have a go at her."

Jhack saluted me. "Aye sir. We'll have her up there and ready within the hour. Make sure you eat before you watch though: I have a feeling she'll be a tough one to break."

I nodded. "It wouldn't be any fun if she wasn't, now would it?"

**One and a Half Hours Later**

After I returned home, I ate quickly while dodging my fiancées questions about what was going on: it wasn't any of her business, the way I saw it. When I was done, I released Ponck to go get ready for the interrogation while I took a quick shower and got into a different pair of clothes: a pair of tight black shorts and a dark green shirt. I decided that I really didn't need shoes for this, and figured that was enough. For the rest of the time, I had mostly sat around, giving Ponck a little extra time in case he needed it: he wouldn't start until I was down there. I had specifically told him that I wanted to question her myself.

Now here I was: standing outside of the interrogation room, taking a few quick moments to gather myself together. I had to make sure that I presented myself strongly, able to counter anything she might say or do. Any sign of weakness might give her courage enough to withstand even the worst of threats and tortures. It had happened once before, and I regretted it: they had died before they broke and told me anything of importance. Taking one last deep breath, I opened the door, walked in, and shut it behind me, giving a slight, satisfying nod as I heard the dual-locks engage.

"Are you ready Ponck?" I asked, walking up to the table. He gave me a nod; that's all he ever gave me. Turning to Flayr, I gave her a small smile. "I hope you're uncomfortable: makes things easier."

She struggled slightly, even though she must know it was useless. "Go on, vermin. Do your worst."

I chuckled, coming to the foot of the table. "You know, it's amazing what people will do and say when they are being tortured." I walked over to the side. "Now, while just about everyone else in the universe relies on medication and drugs, I prefer a much simpler, time-honored method to torture."

"What, by making me look at your ugly mug until I go mad from the sight of it?" She gave a small chuckle, but I could tell she was afraid to hear my answer.

"I'll keep that in mind for next time, but I already have a lineup of events for you." I stepped back, allowing Ponck easy access. "Our torture special for today is in the physical pain and torment category, followed up by a healthy dose of the mental category, and finish the whole thing off with psychological." I gave a quick nod, and Ponck went around and stood on the opposite side of the table.

"What, no questions? No bright light in my eyes? You don't watch too many movies, do you."

I shook my head, a small smile on my face. "You are going to be a lot more fun then the others. As for questions, I really don't know where to start." I pulled out the file of her that I had requested from the RWL. "Says here that you are one of the main strategists for…" I read for a moment "Hijacking ships, breaking and entering, and small skirmishes. Sounds like you're quite a busy person."

"You have your hobbies, I have mine."

"That we do." I paced around the table. "So then you must remember an incident a few weeks back that involved a supply ship making its way here, right?"

She thought for a moment. "No clue what you're talking about." With a small nod from me, Ponck broke her nose, causing several swears to come out of her mouth, all directed at me.

"Now, about that ship a few weeks back…"

She shrugged. "We were running low on supplies, and the ship was an easy target. If you notice, no one was killed in that encounter."

"No, but you did severely injure several of my guards on the ship." I responded.

"If they hadn't tried to attack us from behind, we wouldn't have had to hurt them."

"How about an incident last week involving the collision of one of your fighters with one of our massive freighters?"

She shook her head. "Didn't have anything to do with me." Another nod, and this time the punch landed on her eye.

"Would you like to rephrase your answer?"

"Yeah; you're an asshole."

I chuckled. "Sticks and stones, rebel bitch." This time, I let Ponck get a few good punches in on her, before I stopped him.

"Now, here's the question I really want you to answer: a few days ago, several supply ships exploded in orbit over Klimno, with all hands lost aboard." A flash in her eyes betrayed her: she knew something, and I was going to find out what.

"I heard about that one." She said. I noticed her voice sounded a little shaky, which made me even more intrigued.

"That's all? You only _heard_ about it? You didn't see it? Or plan that raid?" I had to try hard to keep the anger out of my voice: this was the one who had planned the murder of hundreds, just for some supplies.

"Never even crossed my mind." She replied.

I growled, and instead of giving Ponck a nod, I walked up punched her hard on the jaw, hearing a satisfying crack. "I know better then that, and so do you."

"And what the fuck do you know, dumb ass?" Apparently, I had hit a nerve: and I wasn't going to stop there.

"I know that killing hundreds just for show and a pawfull of supplies is probably the lowest thing I've ever heard of, especially when those supplies are going to help people injured in a war." I elbowed her hard in the stomach. "I also know that you are the one who planned it, since that's your fucking job." With a sharp twist, I broke her ankle, causing her to yell in pain. "I know that you are the most despicable person I have ever met or read about in my lifetime." A quick slash, a sharp gasp of pain, and blood was pouring down from her left arm onto the floor. Looking at her, I saw something that made me stop short: tears. But not tears of pain… tears of sadness. "Something to say?" I asked, my voice starting to lose its angry edge.

She was silent for a moment, before speaking in a voice filled with sadness. "If that's what your father is being spread around, then your father has you all more in his pocket then we realized." She looked up at me. "We're not in the business of murdering people for supplies, or anything else for that matter. But there is so much more then you know to that story."

I sighed deeply, several thoughts running through my head. Eventually, my curiosity got the best of me. "Ponck, go outside and wait for me."

Ponck gave a strange look. "Sir…"

I cut him off, even though I was surprised that he had actually spoken. "Ponck, she's tied down and beaten. Besides, do you really think that she'd be a match for me anyway?"

He sighed heavily, tossed me one of his side-arms, and walked outside. Strapping the gun to my waist, and kneeled down so my head was level with hers. "What really happened?"

She sighed, and looked at me. "First off, do you have any idea what's going down on Klimno?"

I nodded. "A civil war; everyone knows that. Why does that matter?"

"Do you know how it got started?"

I had to think about that one for a minute. "Now that you mention it, I never really asked about it. I heard that a civil war was going down, and never bothered to look further into it."

"The truth is… your father started that civil war."

I shook my head, the anger returning to my voice. "If you want me to listen to you, then tell me the truth."

She looked up at the ceiling. "It is the truth." Taking a deep breath, she started talking.

"A few months before it started, your father was looking for a way to make himself look more kind and caring in the eyes of his people. His chief advisor, Agar, came up with the idea that if a war were going on, and he were to be sending in supplies to help those injured, would make him look like a savior. So, he assassinated a few targets, spread a few rumors, and got them all fighting. Yes, he was sending them medical supplies. But he's also been sending them weapons and ammo to continue fighting each other."

I wasn't sure what to say: what could I say? Everything my father had told me had already been caving around me from Angel, and now it was collapsing faster then a sun going supernova. "And those transports?"

"Carrying weapons." She answered. "We finally managed to figure out which of the constant transports was carrying weapons, and decided to try and help the people on Klimno out."

I snorted. "Yes, I'm sure your only intent was to save the poor people killing each other down on the planet."

"I admit, we did need the weapons, and we figured that we might as well get two birds with one stone. It was a simple raid: since they had skeleton crews, we didn't have to worry about a big resistance. We came around from the other side of one of the moons when they entered orbit, and knocked out their weapons and shields. We got on, and as we figured, they gave up without a fight. We went down to their cargo holds and started removing the weapons…" Her voice trailed off, the sadness returning.

"What happened?" I asked quietly. "What went wrong?"

"When we started unloading the weapons, a bunch of guards jumped out from behind the boxes and told us to surrender. One of our guys, first time out on a raid, got scared and started pulling the trigger. The shots hit the grenades that were there, and blew half the room to hell. The rest of the ammo crates were catching fire and ready to blow, so we got the hell out of there as fast as we could."

"You left those people to die." I replied angrily. "You could have tried putting out that fire, you could have taken them with you… but you didn't."

"We didn't think there was time!" She yelled at me. "I was surprised that we managed to get out of the room before it exploded, not to mention the fucking ship."

I shook my head. "You don't give a damn about anybody other then yourself, do you? You send people to die in your crazy schemes, and just watch the show."

If looks could kill, I would've died ten times over with the look she gave me; so filled with anger, hate, and sadness was it, that I took several steps back in fear.

"I lost my fucking brother in that explosion: he was thirteen, and it was his first time out. He was the last family I had, and he was everything to me." She attempted to sit up, but couldn't because of the restraints. "You're the one who doesn't give a damn: you sit here in your palace, eating and drinking and living like nothing is happening out there. People, good and innocent alike, are dying, and your father is making you turn a blind eye to his actions, making you believe that he is doing what is right and best for his so called Federation, while it really only furthers his grip on everyone. You act like there isn't a war going on between your father and those who oppose his tyrannical rule, like the universe is full of roses and happy songs. You have to wake up and realize that at some point, you are going to have to openly side with someone in this war, and then you'll see the Federation for what it truly is: a war-torn front for your father to do as he pleases."

I had no clue what to say: what could I say? How could I respond when these accusations were thrown in my face? I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing would come out. Turning around, I walked out the door to the room and closed it behind me.

"Make sure there are always guards here to watch this door." Not bothering to wait for an answer, I turned around and walked all the way up to the roof. Walking deep into the garden, after making sure that no one was around, I collapsed onto the ground, looking up at the sky.

_What the hell is going on? Is everything that she says true? I thought that there was more to those ships then father let on, but to have started a civil war? I know he's been trying for more power, but would he really sink so far as to turn a planet against itself?_ I sighed heavily. _Tomorrow, I'll talk to Tolan and tell him what she told me. If he believes that it warrants looking into, I'll call my father and confront him about it. I'll leave Lilo… mother, out of this for now: she may be a computer-generated image, but she'd worry too much._

I groaned loudly. "Why the hell is life such a pain in the ass?"


	6. The Truth

Disclaimer: I do not own Lilo and Stitch.

Chapter 6: The Truth

It was two days after I had interrogated Flayr. I hadn't slept the past two nights, too preoccupied with my thoughts. I hadn't called my father yet, either: I was too scared of the answers to my questions to do so.

I was in the garden right now, my communicator sitting next to me on the ground. I looked at it and sighed, putting my head between my hands.

"Can I join you?" A voice asked. Turning, I saw that it was Angel who had asked.

I shrugged. "If you want."

"You haven't been yourself lately." She stated, sitting next to me. "Ever since you brought that rebel girl over, you've been… distant."

I sighed. "The things she said when I interrogated her… I don't want to believe them, but deep down, something rings true."

Angel sighed, putting her arm around me. "And you don't want to call your father to confirm what she said." It wasn't a question: it was a statement of fact.

"How can I?" I asked quietly. "If he does tell me the truth, and what she said is true, how can I face him? How can I even _try_ and defend what he's done, like I have for the past years?" I looked at her. "What do you know about the Klimno civil war?"

She looked off into the distance. "I know that Agar had something to do with it, and I'm sure that some of the transports are carrying more then just medical supplies. Other then that, I'm not sure on anything about it. I was purposefully kept away from internal matters like that… well, _especially_ that."

I groaned; that was exactly the opposite of what I wanted to hear. "What if… what if dad _is_ sending more then medical supplies? What if he's sending guns? What if… what if he's the reason so many Trogs are dying on the planet?"

Angel held me close. "Then you have to do something about it."

"But what can I do?" I said hopelessly. "I don't have power over him, or the troops to fight him, or even the ability to stand against him for any amount of time. I have nothing other then this planet, probably one of the most unpopular planets under my father's rule, simply because I try and treat people equally."

Angel chuckled. "If you didn't think you could stand against him, then you wouldn't have offered to let me and Reuben stay here. Once he finds out about it, he's going to order you to turn us over."

"Which I won't." I stated firmly. "I would never do that to you."

"Then he'll threaten to take over the planet. And if you continue to refuse him, he'll send his army after you. If he doesn't find us, you'll be tortured for information. In the end, he'll declare you a traitor, and probably kill you."

I sighed. "This isn't going to be easy."

"Nothing in life ever is. But this is your choice, and you alone can make it."

I thought for a moment. "I'm not going to throw you and Reuben out, especially not with you pregnant. Even if it means having to face off against my father, I'm not going to. If there's one thing I'm sure of right now, it's that I can trust you two."

Angel smiled sadly. "I'm sorry for putting you into this position."

I shrugged. "It was going to happen eventually." I gave her a quick hug. "I have a call to make."

She nodded and stood up. "Reuben should get here soon; I have him going through the back door." She looked me up and down. "Just remember to follow your heart." With that, she left.

I took a deep breath and picked up my phone. After a moment, I dialed my father's private, secure line. After a few rings, he answered.

"What's going on Ayron?"

I was already nervous, and we had only just started. "I… I heard a rumor, and I wanted to ask you about it."

He chuckled. "There are a lot of rumors about me, I'm sure. Which one are you talking about?"

"Well…" I took a breath "they said that… you started the civil war on Klimno, and were shipping them weapons to keep the fight going."

Stitch sighed. "Listen very carefully: you have to stop that rumor before it gets too far."

"Dad, I just want to know if it's true: if it isn't, I'll do everything in my power to keep the rumor from spreading and growing. If it is… well, I'll still keep it quiet."

"That's my boy!" Stitch said happily. "Now, the truth is, the rumor is half true: my advisor started that war, but I am supplying them weapons to keep fighting."

"Why?" My world was shattering around me. "Why let them die?"

"It's for the best." He stated. "It makes me look good, and I can keep shipping off the cripples and such over there to get rid of them: everyone wins in the end. That planet was full of degenerates and rebellious scum, so we decided to get quite few Earth birds with one stone. Besides, you should be happy as well; it keeps the crap off of Earth, which is starting to improve everyone's opinion about your planet." He was silent for a moment. "You'll keep this quiet, right? You said you would. If this got out… there's no telling what would happen: the entire Federation would crumble, probably into its own civil war."

I nodded, defeated. "Yeah, I will. Don't worry about it."

"Great! I gotta go, Agar has some new ideas about increasing my overall approval rating amongst the outer planets, but if you need anything, just give me a call. I help those who help me." With that, the connection terminated. I stood there, shaking with rage. With a loud roar, I smashed the communicator into dust with one hand, an extremely impressive feat since I don't have my father's super strength. Falling to my knees, I began crying into my hands.

"It's all gone." I whispered. "Everything I knew… everything I've been protecting and striving for… is gone."

No one really knew how much my father really meant to me. When I was younger, he was a mentor, and as I grew, he had turned into my role model.

"I'm sorry Ayron: I wish things hadn't happened like this."

I shook my head. "Deep down, I always knew he was up to no good. I just never wanted to admit that he was evil."

"So, what now?" She asked. "What do you do?"

I stopped crying and thought for a moment. Right now, the only people I could trust were in my palace. I realized what I needed to do. At first, the idea disgusted me, but I could not see a way around it. "I need to go talk to Flayr: she's the only one who can help me now." With that, I walked down to the room where I had left her the past few days. She had been fed; I'm not a complete ass to my prisoners. When I walked in, I was relieved to see that she was awake.

Looking at the two guards, I nodded to the door. "Out."

One of the guards stepped forward. "Sir, I don't think…"

"OUT!" I roared, smashing my hand against the wall, bruising it quite well. Both guards practically tripped over each other in their mad dash to leave.

"Back to hit me again?" She asked coldly. She stood up, chained to the wall, but her expression softened when she realized I had been crying. "He told you, didn't he."

I nodded dejectedly. "You were right: he started the war and kept it going. He's been behind everything on Klimno, and I'm sure more then just that." I looked at her. "This is where you get to say 'I told you so'."

Flayr smirked. "I told you so." She looked at me seriously. "What do you do now?"

I sighed. "I believe that we can help each other out."

She snorted. "And how do I know this isn't a trick?"

I rolled my eyes. "Didn't know you were a conspiracy nut." I looked back at her. "Angel… my mother, needs to go into hiding."

She looked at me curiously. "Your mother? Why does she have to hide?"

"It's kind of complicated, but she's pregnant, and it's not my father's."

Flayr nodded. "I see. So you want us to hide her from him."

"And Reuben, the father." I continued. "Once they go into hiding, I will quietly release you from here to go where you please."

"Won't your father be angry?"

I shook my head. "If this works out, he won't know anything. It'll give me time to figure out where I want to go from here."

"You're running out of time." Flayr said. "He's going to find out about them, and then it'll be too late to stop him. The sooner you act the better."

"I know. I just need to figure out what I should be doing. Until then, I'll try and keep out of my father's way. Do we have a deal?"

She thought for a moment. "We have a deal."

I nodded. "Now, how do I get them into hiding?"

"Down in the southern end of what used to be New York, there's a Trog called Arth; if you ask around, you'll find him. When you ask him to help you, show him this." She nodded to a small gold ring on her right hand. "He'll know that I sent you, and he'll help you."

I looked at her. "Is there any particular reason you're helping me?"

She shrugged. "Maybe I'm just a nice girl."

I rolled my eyes. "And I'm an ugly peasant."

She looked at me. "Well, you got the ugly part right." She responded with a chuckle.

I let the remark slide. "Let me guess; you're going to want a favor. Weapons? Supplies? Men?"

"I dunno." She responded. "Probably not the men part, since we really couldn't trust them. When we need you, we'll call. And trust me: you'll owe us a _big_ one."

I sighed. I knew I was digging myself a big hole here, one that I probably wouldn't be able to get out of. But Angel meant more to me than anyone else in the world. She was my mother, even if she wasn't the one who gave birth to me. She'd cared for me and helped me to grow up throughout my life; I'd do whatever it took to keep her safe. "I'll do whatever you ask: just help Angel."

"Take the ring." She said. I'll admit that I did blush a little when I held her hand. I don't know why, but I had this weird feeling when I held it. Shrugging off the feeling, I gently slipped the ring off her finger.

"When's the best time to try and find him?" I asked, slipping the ring in my pocket.

"Whenever, I guess. He's been there for the past couple of years, hasn't really moved around. Like I said; if you keep asking around, you're bound to find him eventually." She paused for a moment. "And I'd choose something a little less noticeable to wear. Southern end New York is known for a serious zone of… resentment, against you and your family. Get some crappy clothes, or maybe just a ripped up pair of pants. Of course, the more of you that you show, the more that you'll have to dirty up."

I eyed her. "Are you nuts? Ruin this perfect fur of mine? You've got to be kidding me."

She rolled her eyes. "And people say females are the ones obsessing over their image. If you want to get shot, then go right ahead and act like that. Otherwise, you might actually want to listen to me."

I sighed. "I'll think about it."

"And I'd hurry. The longer you wait, the more of a chance there is that your father will find out about it."

"Because I definitely need to be reminded about that one." I muttered, leaving the room. Turning to the guards, I growled at them.

"Ever question me again, and you'll be the one tied up in there; and I don't treat my men as well as I do prisoners." With that said, I trundled off to find an ice pack to put on my hand: whatever I had done to it when I hit the wall, it was swelling up decently now, and I didn't like the way it was throbbing. Sighing, I decided to go to infirmary and get it checked out.

At my palace, Experiment 010, better known as Felix, ran the infirmary. After accidentally switching him from a neat-freak to a mess-maker, Jumba had spent forever trying to find the perfect mix to make him a great cleaner, but not kill people. Once he managed to get it to that perfect level, it turned out that Felix was a great doctor, especially when it came to bacteria and virus.

"Good to see you sir." Felix said as I came into his office.

"Hey Felix." I replied, showing him my hand. "This isn't good, is it?"

Felix held it, turned it over, and chuckled. "You did a good number this time. Just by looking at it, I'd say you cracked or broke three of the knuckles, and even managed to embed some of the fragments inside your tendons. Come over here." He led me over to a scanner, and put my hand in it. "Just hold still for a few seconds." After a brief flash of light and a small buzzing, the projector formed a 3-D image of my hand, several parts of it were red, and most of the rest was yellow.

Felix nodded. "Yep, you broke two of the knuckles," he started, pointing to them, "and cracked a third. Bone fragments embedded themselves all over the tendons in your hand, and then your hand swelled up pretty quickly as a result of that."

"Can you fix it?" I asked.

He scoffed. "Duh, of course I can. I'll numb it, we'll stick it in the de-sweller, and then we'll let the repair machine do its job before any of it wears off."

I nodded. "Whatever." Turning around, he shuffled a few things around on his table, and turned around with a needle, filled with fluid.

"Now, this'll probably hurt, but it's better then dealing with the pain from fixing the bones." He grabbed my hand, and I grimaced as pain shot through my hand. He slowly inserted the needle, and the pain flared up and I let out a brief moan. A moment later, the feeling in my hand was completely gone, and I was suddenly feeling better. He led me over to what looked like a small microwave. I put my hand in through the side, and the door closed tightly around it. He pressed a few buttons, and the device started up. Even though I knew that the temperature inside was dropping below freezing, I could only feel a small tingle, mainly around my wrist where the painkiller ended. After a minute or two there, he looked at it.

"Perfect!" He said happily. He led me over to one final machine. "This should do the trick. Now, personally, I wouldn't look while it's working if I were you." He knew I had a weak stomach. "It'll be cutting open your hand, pulling out the bone fragments, repairing the tendons, putting and refusing the bone, and then sealing the whole thing up. It'll take about ten or fifteen seconds, but it is a little bit on the blood and gore kind of side, so I wouldn't look into the machine."

"What should I look at?" I asked.

"Pay attention to me." I looked at him while he started the machine. "Basically, this machine uses a variety of lasers, mini-teleporters, and a few medical instruments with names longer then even the most complex viri and bacteria. It uses the lasers to cut into your skin, followed by the teleportation of the bone fragments from your tendons. After fixing your tendons, it teleports the bone pieces _back_ into the hand in their proper position, and then fuses them together. After that, it accelerates your bodies normal regeneration process to heal the primary incisions in a matter of seconds."

"Does it hurt?" I asked, slightly pale from the explanation.

He chuckled, opening the machine. "It's already done." Sure enough, my hand looked brand new. "The sedative should wear off in about an hour. You might feel some pain flashes for a couple of hours, maybe a bit of minor swelling. If anything more then that happens, come and see me immediately. Got it?"

I nodded. "Thanks Felix." With a quick pat on his back, I left the medical center.

I wasn't sure where to go at this point. I had a lot of things to do at the moment, and I didn't think I had a whole lot of time to do them. First thing I had to do was talk to my mother and Reuben about it, and decide where to go from there. It took me about half an hour to track her down, due to the fact that she had her communicator turned off.

I'm not sure why I didn't check the garden first: it was here favorite spot. She was deep inside it, at the very center of the hedge maze that dominated a good quarter of the garden, which was huge. She was lying on her back, staring up at the sky through the clear glass ceiling.

"Mom?" I asked timidly, afraid of pursuing this path. "I gotta talk to you about something."

She sat up and turned to look at me. "Of course! You can ask me about anything."

I sat down next to her and sighed. "Well, I figure that, in order to disappear, you're going to need a lot of help from someone other then me."

She shrugged. "Probably. Why? Who do you have in mind?"

"Well, I was talking with Flayr about what was going on, and she suggested that… that you and Reuben should go hide with the rebels."

Angel sighed, as she looked off into the distance. "I've never been happy with you're father's rule, but I've always thought that joining the rebels was a little… overkill, for the situation."

"I can't protect you." I told her bluntly. "I don't have the resources or the men to do so for very long. If you want to escape my father, the only way you can do so for long would be with the rebellion, the ones who hide from him every day out in the open. I can stall him for a bit, at least long enough for you to get far enough underground where he won't be able to find you. I'll cook up a story about the rebels capturing you while you were out somewhere, and then put on a big show of tearing the planet apart to find you. By the time I 'figure out' that you aren't here anymore, the rebels should be able to have you so far away that dad will never guess what planet you are on."

Angel sighed heavily. "There's no other way?"

I shook my head. "Not that all of us will get through in one piece." We were silent for a moment. "I'll meet up with Flayr's contact in New York tomorrow, and see what I can work out with him. Hopefully, I can have you with them in the next two or three days. After that, I'll figure out exactly what I'm going to do about dad."

And with that decision, my life changed forever; the consequences of such I wouldn't come to comprehend for quite some time.


	7. Favor To Ask

Disclaimer: I do not own Lilo and Stitch.

Chapter 7: Favor To Ask

Normally, I'm not a drug taker. However, with the prospect of a third straight sleepless night, I swiped some sleeping pills from the infirmary. I feel a little guilty about taking them from Felix's supplies and all, but I needed to be awake tomorrow if I was going to deal with Flayr's contact. After taking a few, I was out within minutes.

The next morning I woke up a little bit groggier then usual, but otherwise I felt well rested. By the look of the sheets, Jezell hadn't joined me last night, which I was thankful for, since I couldn't remember anything after taking the pills. I climbed slowly out of bed and glanced at the clock: it was only ten, so it wasn't too late, but I didn't want to waste much time. I grabbed a quick shower, tossed on some clothes, and headed down to eat something.

Entering the dining room, I sat down in the chair next to Angel. "Morning." I said, motioning to a servant to bring me some food.

"Morning." She replied. "So, when do we leave?"

"As soon as I eat." Motioning to another servant, I said "Go tell Lothon to fuel up the local transport ship, and that my mother and I will be along shortly to take off."

The servant nodded. "Shall I tell him a destination sir?" He inquired.

I shook my head. "I'll inform him when I board." After a flick of my hand, to show I was finished, he scurried off to his appointed task as my food was brought out and set in front of me. Just as I began to eat, Jezell walked into the room.

"Hi honey. How'd you sleep?" She asked, walking over and kissing me on the cheek.

"Just fine. I noticed you never came up though." I replied, digging into my meal.

Jezell shrugged. "Figured you were already asleep, and I know you don't like to be woken up in the middle of the night, so I decided to rest elsewhere for the night." There was silence for a moment. "So, I overheard that you were taking out the local transport. When did you plan on telling me?"

I rolled my eyes. I had known she would make a big deal out of this, but I clearly couldn't let her go along with us. "I didn't plan on it. My mother wishes to travel around while she is here instead of spending all the time in the palace. I am going to spend the day with her, and then she is going to travel by herself for the rest of her stay here."

Jezell turned to my mother, and I wanted to strangle her before she even started asking her questions. "I would think you'd want to stay with your son the entire time you are here. Why go off alone, especially on this planet?"

"I need to take some time off and relax, and this place is not what I want. I don't want servants pouring over me night and day, I just want to sit down somewhere quiet, by myself, and just soak in the sun and sights." A small part of me hoped that Jezell would just drop it, but I knew her better then that.

"But why Earth? There are plenty of other planets less crowded and better looking then this place."

Angel nodded. "I know that. But I used to live here for quite some time, and it's a nice place. I also wanted to be close to Ayron in case I needed something from him or my husband."

"You have a communicator… why would you need to be on the same planet?"

"I'm going to be turning it off. I can hardly have peace and quiet if the phone is ringing off the hook every few minutes." As Jezell began her next question, my mother cut her off. "Yes, my husband already knows I'm planning on doing this, so if he has a critical need from me, he knows he can contact Ayron to get to me."

I finished swallowing the rest of my meal, happy that we could leave. "All right, the day is wasting, so let's get going." I said, jumping up and making a move for the door.

Jezell stepped in my way. "Are you sure I can't come with?" She asked, a hint of sadness in her voice.

I sighed, and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. I may not like her as a person, but that body… oh that body. "Don't worry, I'll only be gone for the day, and then I'll be back. I'm sure you can find some way to amuse yourself until I get back." I left the room, Angel right behind me. We walked down the hallway, and she poked me. Glancing back, I saw her nod to Ponck, who was right behind her, and I stopped short.

As usual, I had forgotten about Ponck. Chances were that I wasn't going to be able to leave without him, but if I did leave with him, that would be one more person in a loop that I didn't need getting any larger. "Mother, go to the ship. I need to talk to Ponck alone." With a nod, she continued down the hall and out of sight. Glancing around, I made sure nobody else was around.

"Ponck, what my mother and I are doing, if we get found out, will bring my father and the rest of the Empire down on this planet and me. It's drastic, but I refuse to see my mother get killed. If you have any problem with this, stay here so that you don't get into any trouble."

He shook his head. "No." He said in a deep, hushed tone. Amazed that he had spoken, I was even more surprised when he continued. "I was created to protect and serve you. If you think what you're doing is right, then I will go with you until the end, and never question you."

Blinking for moment, I shook my head to clear it. "All right, then let's get going."

We arrived at the ship moments later, and I looked it up and down. It was definitely not the nicest craft I owned, but it was the most reliable when it came to traveling around on the surface. It wasn't very large, and wouldn't hold many passengers, but it always suited my needs. Climbing aboard, I saw that my mother was already there, Lothon was in the pilot seat, and I knew that Reuben was hiding somewhere in the back.

"Let's get rolling." I called up front, as we all strapped ourselves in. The door closed and locked, removing the cabin area from sight of anybody outside. Reuben crawled out into the seat next to my mother, and strapped himself in.

He looked like an odd character, Reuben. Even though he had clearly been in the secret force for years, he still had a pudgy, teddy-bear look about him. There were clear burn spots on several parts of his fur, and a few scars scattered around. Yet, he still seemed to act like a bit of a child, and still seemed to have a good sense of laughter and humor.

"Lothon, take us to the Old New York base." I called up to him.

"Roger that." He replied, and the ship shook as it took off.

"My name's Reuben." He said, offering his paw to me. "And I want to thank you for doing this. It means the world to us."

I shook his paw with my own. "Anything for my mother."

"What's the plan?" Angel asked. "Why are we landing at the base? There's a public hangar closer to the heart of the city."

I nodded. "Yes, but I'd walk in there then have everybody notice us arriving. I'd also like to throw on some form of disguise to avoid attracting unwanted attention from the locals. Old New York is notorious for members of higher status being kidnapped, robbed, or killed while walking around."

The journey wasn't very long, and we remained in silence for the rest of it. When we landed, I walked up to the cockpit.

"Lothon, I'm going out for a bit. Stay at the base, and I'll be back this evening alone."

Lothon nodded. "All right, but who's the guy with your mother? If you don't mind my asking, sir." He added the last part hastily, and sounded embarrassed that he had actually asked me something that might have been personal.

"Oh, him? He's… a cousin to my mother and father. She hasn't seen him in a while, so they are going to hang out and talk." He nodded, and I left the ship quickly to avoid any more questions.

"This way." I said, leading the group to one of the gates of the base. Pointing to a few rooms nearby, I said, "This is where we change clothes. Nothing too fancy, or shiny, we just want to pass as civilians."  
"Your fur." My mother said, looking me up and down. "We're going to have to do something about it."

"Mom, there is no way I'm going to let you put dirt in this fur." I responded.

She chuckled. "Just like when you were a boy." She turned to Reuben. "He absolutely refused to play around like a normal child. He was always worried about ruining his shiny silver fur, so he'd sit around the house and read books all day to keep himself occupied."

Reuben let out a small chuckle. "What a girl."

I sighed, face-palming. "Can we just get going please?" It took us a few minutes to get into appropriate attire, but we managed to get some decent civilian attire going. Angel and Reuben put on hats to disguise their faces, just in case anybody might recognize me. When we got outside, I glanced around at everyone.

"All right, this looks good. Are we all ready?"

Angel pointed behind me. "Who's that?" Afraid someone was watching I spun around quickly. I scanned the area, and saw no one around. I was about to turn back and ask what she'd seen, when I felt something being poured over my head. I stumbled forward, falling, and turned back to see Angel holding a pail that, until a moment ago, had clearly held mud. Grabbing a mirror, I looked at myself in horror.

"What did you do that for!" I asked angrily. "My… my poor fur!"

Angel sighed, shaking her head. "You'll get over it. Come on, let's go." Shaking myself to lose the excess dirt, I walked out behind her, brooding away angrily at what she'd done.

I never understood what drove so many Trogs to live around this area. There wasn't anything special about it, nothing that made it stand out, it just seemed to draw anyone that was down on their luck and having a bad year. Maybe it was the old Statue of Liberty, which I had had refurbished recently to look like new, that gave them some sense of hope. Maybe it was the history of this place being so successful. Whatever it was that drew them here, it drew them by the thousands. Old New York was the most populace place for its size in the world now; no area of remotely equal size had nearly the number living in it that lived here.

It took a good while to walk to the inner city, but we got there without much of a hassle. One or two punks had tried to pick our pockets, but a growl and shift from Ponck scared the off instantly. A few people glanced at us as if they recognized us, but we moved along quickly, and there was never a shout of our names, so it seemed we were fine.

"All right, let's get this thing going." I muttered. We started asking around for Arth, the name Flayr had given us. For all I knew, this was a trap she had set up long ago, but I didn't think so; the chance for one of the royal family to be in debt was too good to pass up. For close to two hours we asked around, and nobody seemed to know where he could be found. Finally, we struck gold with a bar owner.

"Sures, I know the man." He said, the smell about him making me hope he wouldn't lead us to him. "If you just keep going down the street, the last house on the left is where he is." He pointed out the direction, and I thanked him, scurrying off before his aroma made me vomit. It only took a minute to wade through the crowd and get to where he had said.

"This is it." I said. "Now, let me do all the talking." I knocked on the door twice, and it creaked open a few inches. Glancing inside, I saw that no one was at the door, and the lights were off inside. Opening the door a little more, nothing new could be seen, so I opened it the rest of the way. The silhouette of light from the door didn't help much, so I padded in slowly, the rest of the group following me slowly.

"What's going on?" Angel asked.

"I don't know." I replied, walking a bit further. Suddenly, the door slammed shut behind us, leaving us in total darkness for a moment, before the lights came on, showing us that we were surrounded by a dozen armed Trogs. Ponck had to plasma pistols out, pointing them at two of them, while the rest of us pulled into a tight circle.

"Who are you, and what do you want?" One of them asked.

I swallowed, and took half a step forward. "I'm looking for Arth. Someone told me I could find him here."

"He might be here." The one who spoke, slightly to my left, took a few steps closer, he gun still pointed at me. "Who's asking?"

"Flayr sent me." I tossed the ring to him, and he caught it. Looking it over, he glared at me.

"And how did you come by this? She wouldn't just give this away to anyone."

"She and I have a deal." I replied. "She said Arth could help me with a problem I have, and to show him the ring to prove that she had sent me."

He nodded. "Stand down boys, they're fine." The guns were all lowered, and I motioned Ponck to do the same. "My name is Arth, I'm the leader of the local area rebellion. Come with me, and we can talk privately." He led me to a small room and closed the door behind me, locking out the rest. We sat down in some chairs, and he turned to me. "Now, what could a member of the royal family _possibly_ need from the rebellion?"

I gawked. "How did you know?"

He motioned outside. "I knew you and your group were looking for me hours ago, and I made sure to lead you here when we were ready for you. As for knowing who you are, it really isn't that difficult for someone in this group to recognize a member of the family, even if they are wearing a decent disguise."

"All right. "I said, nodding. "Well, I have a… unique request to ask of you, and it's going to sound weird. I need you to hide my mother and Reuben for me."

Arth let out a low whistle and leaned back in his chair. "You're right, this is interesting. You want me, a member of the rebellion, to look after your mother, who is married to the king? And… what, her new boyfriend?"

I nodded. "Yes. Now, what do I have to do in order to make this work?"

Arth thought for a moment. "A lot. This is a big risk for us, you have to understand; up until now, your father has been after us, but he hasn't been cracked down to the point where we can't operate. If he found out that we had here, there wouldn't be a safe place in the universe for us to hide."

"I know." I responded. "But I don't plan on him finding out for some time."

"And what then? You clearly can't hide this from him forever, and what are you going to do when he ends up finding out?" I had no response for that. I had tried to come up with a plan, but had been unable to up to this point. I could always push the blame off to the rebels, but surely one of them would tell my father, and then it'd all be over. "Look, here's what I'll do. I'll take her and her boyfriend, and I'll make sure they get off the planet and somewhere safe and hidden. When I come up with a repayment, I'll call you. But, I'm going to tell you now, it won't be too far off that that happens."

I glanced up at him, surprised. "You seem awfully trusting of me."

He chuckled. "Who needs to trust? We are going to have your mother, and enough dirt to make sure that, if you turn on us, you'll go down as well. This is probably one of the safest things we could do for the near future."

I have to admit; he had quite a valid point there. It also cemented the fact that, if I were to commit to this, that there would be no way to go back. If I tried to back out, the rebels would just keep my mother and demand a ransom for her safe return, and even then I doubt that they'd give her up after we paid. Was I really ready to turn my back on the world I had grown up in?  
I shook the thoughts from my head. This wasn't an alliance; this was simply protection for Angel. Father was never going to find out about this for some time, and even when he did, why would he suspect me? True, I probably wasn't his favorite son, but I'm sure that he trusts me enough not to come after me. And even if the rebels attempt to turn me in, who is father going to believe: his son and wife, or a pack of rebels pleading for their lives?

"I must be going." I said, standing up. "If I'm off the radar for much longer, someone is bound to get worried and send people looking for me."

Arth nodded, standing with me. "Of course. You have nothing to worry about; we'll take care of them." He offered me his paw for a shake. I'll admit, I thought for a moment about turning it down, since I really didn't want anything to do with them. However, I didn't want to cause any issues before we even got things in motion, so I took it briefly.

"Keep a hold of that ring." He said, nodding to the one Flayr gave me. "If you ever plan on coming back, that'll be your ticket it."

I nodded, slipping it away. "I'll release her in the next few days from the palace. Just know that if she gets caught again, I will be powerless to help her." I walked out of the room and gave Angel a hug.

"Don't worry." I said, pulling her close. "You'll both be hidden and well taken care of."

Angel nodded, pulling out of the hug after a moment. "Ayron, thank you. I… I don't know how I can possibly repay you for this."

I chuckled, giving her playful punch to the shoulder. "Think of it as a partial payment for raising me all these years. It's about time I managed to return the favor." I turned to Reuben and shook his paw. "I don't really know you, but if she's in love with you, then you must be one hell of a guy. Make sure she stays safe."

He nodded. "I will."

I turned and looked at Arth. "Just know that, while I may be turning to you for help, I still don't completely agree with what you're doing."

Arth smirked. "That's simply because you don't know how deep your father's corruption and evil runs. Trust me… when you see the truth within the truth, you might just change you're tune."

I shrugged, turning for the door. "We'll see."


End file.
